US-Bangla Airlines, country`s largest private carrier, today started direct flights to Jeddah, the gateway to the holy city of the Muslim Ummah and one of the popular destinations in the Middle East region.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Faruk Khan officially announced the inauguration of Dhaka-Jeddah flight at the city`s Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel.

The airline has decided to operate flights to Saudi Arabia`s second largest city, Jeddah, to fulfill the desire of devout Muslims of Bangladesh to perform Umrah Hajj after a long wait, as well as, in view of the demand of expatriate Bangladeshis.

The carrier will operate Dhaka-Jeddah flights daily with the wide-body jet Airbus A330-300 which has 436-passenger capacity.

In his speech, the minister said his ministry will discuss with every stakeholder of the aviation sector to ensure the services to the fellow passengers and solving problems and advancement of this sector.

Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Chairman Air Commodore Sadikur Rahman Chowdhury was the guest of honor, while US-Bangla Managing Director Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun, NovoAir Managing Director Mofizur Rahman, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) Executive Director Group Captain Md Kamrul Islam, US-Bangla CEO Lutfar Rahman were also present in the function, among others.

US Bangla`s Jeddah flight will depart from Dhaka at 5:15 pm for Jeddah and land in Jeddah at 9:10 pm airport at 8:55 am (local time) and it will again leave from Jeddah at 11:10 pm and land at HSIA.

The carrier fixed the minimum fare from Dhaka to Jeddah including tax and surcharge Taka 53,189 one way and Taka 90,718 return fare. BSS